“Ambitious aspirations for power in the state”. Image of Henry, Duke of Guise in Russian and French schoolbooks of the 19th – early 20th century

Abstract

The following article is an attempt at a comparative analysis of  the  images  of  a  key  character  in  the  epoch  of  the  Civil  (religious)  wars  in  France,  Henry,  Duke  of  Guise  in  schoolbooks  of  the  19th  –  early  20th  century.  The  research  is  based  on  several  schoolbooks  for  different  levels  of  education  published  in  France  and  Russia  at  that  time.  It  is  concluded  that  the  “black  legend”  about  the  Duke  of  Guise  consolidated  in  the  collective  consciousness  as a contribution of educational literature. He was portrayed not only as an antagonist to not only the last Valois, but also to the future monarch Henry IV, the one traditionally standing for tolerance and progress in European historical culture. However, in the liberal-republican discourse Henry of Guise’s image was  always  rather  ambiguous.  The  schoolbooks  reflect  the  controversial  character of his figure, as it was constructed by historians. The ever-changing political context and the development of historical research defined the evolution of his image in France as well as in Russia and the aiming for further objectiveness in  19–20th  century  schoolbooks.  Nevertheless,  the  main  features  of  his  image  haven’t changed.